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About this blog: I was a "corporate brat" growing up and lived in different parts of the country, ending in Houston, Texas for high school. After attending college at UC Davis, and getting an MBA at Harvard, I embarked on a marketing career, mai... (More)

About this blog: I was a "corporate brat" growing up and lived in different parts of the country, ending in Houston, Texas for high school. After attending college at UC Davis, and getting an MBA at Harvard, I embarked on a marketing career, mainly in the Bay Area with different companies. My former wife went back to medical school after we had been married a few years, and we moved into married student housing at Stanford, had our two now adult children while she was a medical student, and moved into Palo Alto when she started her Residency. Been here ever since. As my kids were going through the Palo Alto schools, I was actively involved in their activities, most notably head umpire for Palo Alto Little League and 9 years as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, among other activities. My kids both are grown, my son teaches 5th grade locally, and my daughter, fluent in Mandarin, is working in China. I sold the business I owned and ran for 8 years in 2012, worked on the Obama campaign, and am consulting for non-profit organizations, which gives me a nice, flexible schedule. Lots of stamps in my passport, and for fun, I like live performances &emdash; theater and music - and of course the Giants! (Hide)

Grass Roots Obama

Uploaded: Apr 1, 2012

Full disclosure: I am an Obama supporter. Despite some character flaws that make him less effective than I would like to see in a President, I am glad he is in the White House, and I intend to vote for him again this November, whoever is his GOP opponent.

That said, I had an opportunity on March 31 to witness a remarkable session in the East Bay that struck me as having its roots in the days that the President was a community organizer in Chicago some years ago. I was invited to attend as an Obama supporter, but I quickly tried to shift to more of a reporter role of the event.

I will not disclose things that could be viewed as internal matters for those who support the Obama re-election effort, but I have some observations about the event and what implications it may have for us here locally in the coming months before the November election.

The 6 hour session was called 'Camp Obama,' and was intended for people who wish to get more actively involved with the President's re-election campaign, especially in roles beyond 'worker bees.' Nearly 50 people carved out their Saturday to attend. It was very well run, with several people leading it who were connected with the campaign and the White House. One had attended the event the previous evening in SF at which Michelle Obama was the keynoter. Another met the President at (what is now the ill-fated) Solyndra visit to Fremont in 2010.

The morning involved discussions around how at the local level the campaign was organizing and recruiting. There were clearly defined roles and tasks. It was clear from the presentations and discussions that the Obama campaign is taking full advantage of the 'Cloud,' and data gathering, analysis and feedback is going back and forth between local groups like this one in the East Bay and the HQ in Chicago.

The sessions after lunch focused more on 'messaging.' How to talk to people, what to say what not to say, some drill down on the whole ObamaCare issue. There was a lead at each table (tables set up by different parts of the East Bay) to get people to sign up for further training and participation going forward. This was a leadership recruiting event, and people were clearly engaged, nobody over the top, but genuinely interested in doing more than just showing up at the voting booth this November.

My thoughts:

1. The grass roots organizing by the Obama campaign is formidable. What I saw on Saturday is going on all over the country. Blue states like California are harnessing supporters to work on swing states, such as Nevada, with personal visits and phone calls to prospective voters, not just Obama supporters, but also independents and the like who vote differently each election cycle.

2. The people in the room I was in on Saturday were Americans of every stripe you can imagine. They were in different circumstances, from homeless to very comfortable. Nobody was strident, nobody was angry, nobody was PollyAnniish. They were there because they want the President re-elected, and were willing to do some work as volunteers to accomplish that objective. I contrast this with 'Tea Partiers' who come across to me as in a perpetual state of anger.

3. I could not help but wonder what the counterpoint is in the Republican Party. As a marketing guy, I was thinking that this deep grass roots effort by the Obama campaign is juxtaposed with robo-phone calls, huge media spending, spewing by the likes of Fox and Limbaugh, but little personal contact with real people, be it phone or face to face. Both candidates will make personal appearances as the election approaches. The question is what's behind their curtains?

4. This session spent a great deal of time discussing ObamaCare. Talking points were fine, it is clear that there is a great deal of mis-understanding about the law. The crowd was too polite. From my point of view, the matter cannot be discussed until after we hear from the Supreme Court later this June. This did not seem to be something that the people leading this session understood.

Regardless of who runs against the President this fall, and even who wins, the grass roots effort by the Obama campaign is a very impressive machine. More goes into winning an election than such an effort, things like substance come into play, some of the time. Strategically, what wins elections in this day and age? Time will tell.

Do get involved, whatever your inclinations. It is not that difficult to do so, it can be an enjoyable social experience. That's what I am doing this year.

"I could not help but wonder what the counterpoint is in the Republican Party."

Duh.

<sorry!>

The counterpoint to the thousands of Obama donors ponying up fifty bucks are the big donors on the the other side - guys that write massive checks.

Foster Friess's million keep Santorum in the race, Sandy Alderson spends 15 million to keep Newt in the race. Even with that, Romney's superpac outspends them at a rate of 10 or 20 to 1.

For the general, groups like Karl Rove's Crossroads will raise $250 million to spread fear about Obama among the Fox sheeple. So far, most of it reportedly has come from 5 (yes, five) donors.

So Obama has to do the bootcamps. Twenty buck donations don't cut it in the age of Citizens United.

Not a big fan of Obama, but the GOP hasn't run any one serious enough to consider for my vote. They drove out all the sane candidates early. We're left with a candidate with the core principles of an Etch A Sketch.

Agree with the social experience. Made calls in 2008. Was not a boring day.

Posted by Outside Observer,
a resident of ,
on Apr 1, 2012 at 11:38 pm

>> "both McCain and Obama where very weak prospects "

So true, and the prospectives for 2012 are even worse.

I suggest we have a 3rd option. "None of the Above". If "None of the above" gets the majority of votes, then everyone else on the ballot is precluded from running again, and we start all over from the beginning with new candidates.

Posted by Paul Losch,
a resident of ,
on Apr 2, 2012 at 6:51 amPaul Losch is a registered user.

Re-Direct, SVP

This blog is not intended to discuss the merits of Obama or any other candidate. Rather, it was written to engender discussion about how different groups are using different strategies to get their candidate elected.

Please offer up your thoughts and describe your experiences around that, even if it is just how you react to getting a phone call at dinner time--one of my pet peeves.

There are and will be plenty of other postings about the candidates in the coming months, if what transpired on this web site in 2008 is any indication. If you want to opine about a candidate or his policies, you will have plenty of opportunity to do so.

I am hoping this blog generates some discussion about what we are doing or experiencing locally around being part of a campaign. Donors welcome!

♥ James wants to grind an ax about a pipeline designed to bring tar sand (the 'dirtiest of oil') to Texas to be exported to other countries.

♥ Sharon wants to grind an ax about a 1 term governor having more experience than the President who got us out of Iraq, killed Bin Laden and after being handed the worst economy since the Depression, has given us 23 consecutive months of private sector job growth. Instead she wants the 1 term governor with an EtchASketch as chief campaign strategist.

♥ outside observer wants to grind an ax about changing the Constitution to add 'none of the above'

The only reason you didn't get more comments like this so far is you posted on a weekend, instead of mid-week!

I think it's a great topic. One could even localize the discussion (naturally fits, given the grassroots theme) about how the local party offices are motivating their troops. After all, Obama will solicit the troops help from a national level, but direct them to the local offices (that's where it's fun - the local dem hq, like you suggested.)

(yes, Sharon, that's where we all smoke dope, burn the flag and have orgies0

Nationally, I see only one side motivating their die-hard base to hit the streets and phones.

The other side? For all the lies, venom and hatred of the incumbent Fascist Muslim Socialist Radical Christian Kenyan?, rallying around an EtchASketch seems like quite a reach. Prediction - unless Myth picks Rubio, Obama wins Florida by five points. If Myth doesn't carry Florida, game over - the GOP can't win without FL.

Posted by Paul Losch,
a resident of ,
on Apr 2, 2012 at 11:08 amPaul Losch is a registered user.

Since I am not a Republican, I do not know much about what it going on in that party other than what I see and hear in the news.

I do have the impression that here in California, the GOP folks come here to raise money, but little else. No effort to organize people to help out in other parts of the country where they could help with tipping point states.

This may change once they have a firm candidate, and they have a great deal of catching up to do should that be part of their national campaign effort. It may be too late already to make a legitimate go of it.

There's going to be tens of thousands of calls going into Florida in October and the first week of November.

Democrat base states are 242 votes. The Republicans have to peel off Pennsylvania (Santorum as nominee or VP pick) or Wisconsin (chances of going red are pretty much done since Scott Walker screwed the pooch up there - totally energized the lib base with his overreach) to change the 242 number.

With 242, then the Dems only need Florida's 29 to go over the top. So the VP pick can only help in one state, have to defend PA or FL with the Rubio pick mentioned. Tough choice. Or get both with a Santorum/Rubio ticket.

With Florida for the GOP and PA for the dems, there are numerous other combinations that spell doom for the GOP: Obama in Ohio & Virginia end it, or Colorado & NC.

Or the GOP gets disheartened, doesn't show up and Obama runs over him like he did with McCain, 365-163. Highly unlikely, but if so, the disheartened base will be the reason the dems keep the senate and re-take the house. Blame the base, or the candidate?

It's going to be all about jobs reports and campaign mistakes for the next 6 months. Assuming flat reports, no serious mistakes, no global economic meltdowns, then it's the ground game in the swing states.

Posted by Paul Losch,
a resident of ,
on Apr 2, 2012 at 7:02 pmPaul Losch is a registered user.

James,

The Obama record aside, you may be right or wrong about using the media to get the message out to win. That is the whole point of this blog--Obama's campaign has a huge "retail" effort as part of their strategy. I suspect that its "wholesale" strategy of media and the like will ramp up later in the year.

The GOP is still in the trenches fighting it out over how long it will take before Romney clinches the front runner spot. I detect no grass roots effort at a party, let alone a candidate, level on the Republican side. Even if Romney became the nominee tomorrow, I think it is too late for the GOP to mount an effective grass roots effort, even it they wanted to (which I don't think they do.)

So the GOP is left with a "wholesale" strategy." They have plenty of money to throw at it, not sure what the message is yet. I hope they have something more than that Obama has failed. Give me a reason to vote for someone. But again, this blog is about campaign stratgies and tactics, not the candidates or their substance.

I would suggest that the GOP retail stuff, when combined, is larger than the Dem stuff. Apparently you see it differently. Attending propaganda camps can get one to drink the kool-aid. Guilty as charged, Paul?

Sharon, you copied your numbers from Rasmussen incorrectly, from your link: "In a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup, Romney and President Obama are tied at 46%. If Rick Santorum is the GOP nominee, the president leads 47% to 41%. " Web Link

Latest valid tracking polls? What's your definition of "valid" re polls? Ras is the epitome of right leaning polls, while DK funded PPP (opposed to PPP's independent polls.) lean left. Ras is notorious for skewing right up to the final weeks before an election when they come back into the mainstream of results.

You gave up on your "State Governors get higher ratings" argument? Was expecting for you to support your statement with facts rather than a shift into presidential polls.

Back to topic - I agree with Sharon, obliquely, that the swing states and their governor issues will be play a roll in the retail, ground game this November.

MacDonnell's transvaginal transgressions will swing female voters into the blue column in VA, while Little Scotty Walker's overreach and recall will take WI out of swing state status due to the mobilization of the left specifically because of him. Kasich's appalling numbers in Ohio and his SB 5 blunder spurred a huge ground game that will continue through November. We'll see about Florida.

Posted by Paul Losch,
a resident of ,
on Apr 9, 2012 at 2:26 pmPaul Losch is a registered user.

Come on you guys! Are you able to stay on topic????

The point of my blog here is to discuss eperiences around working for a campaign. We all have our views about the President and his potential oppopnets, and the policies that attend them.

Those of you that choose to not get personally involved in a campaign and choose to opine on this blog are in the wrong space. Find another place that is conducive to opinions as opposed to experiences.

"Full disclosure: I am an Obama supporter. Despite some character flaws that make him less effective than I would like to see in a President, I am glad he is in the White House, and I intend to vote for him again this November, whoever is his GOP opponent." (your words).

"That said, I had an opportunity on March 31 to witness a remarkable session in the East Bay" (again, your words).

Such sycophancy can hardly be entertained as an objectie reporting of the methods involved in a campaign. After all, according to your 'reporting' only 50 people attented this propagands meeting.

"Such sycophancy can hardly be entertained as an objectie reporting of the methods involved in a campaign."

As opposed to Sharon's Super Secret Plan to get us out of Vietnam, errrr, Sharon's Super Secret Plan to find WMD, ummmm, no, Sharon's Super Secret Plan to use a quote from 415BC in a discussion about 2012 retail campaign tactics, err, umm, no, it was Sharon's Super Secret Plan to hide the Super Secret Ultimate Conservative Secret Web Based Election Strategy.

"We are not going to reveal the Conservative 3.0 web and social network strategy for the reasons we have stated"

Seriously, Sharon? The only secret thing you have in an online election strategy is.....

Naturally the editors see n othing wrong with any of sharons comments. What a surprise! I guess reading someones comments and then giving an opinion on said comments and the poster is too much for the delicate sensibilities of our prim and proper editors. Making a comment about Web 3.0 is also apparently verboten when it applies to the darling of the editorial staff.

"Foster demonstrates the blog equivalent of DUI around .30- have a happy night--do not drive."

As I said - ya got nothing.

You invent a fictional Web 3.0 Super Secret Campaign Tool fantasy for conservative tech execs, get called on it, and all ya had left was to say I'm drunk.

Rather would have preferred that I was given the beatdown the Nuggets administered tonight. That said, I already made my point about your contributions, Sharon - "Honestly, you had me going at first. I thought maybe the conservative movement was doing more than Facebook, Little Green Footballs and RedState."

Sixty-one percent (61%) believe finding new sources of energy is more important than reducing the amount of energy Americans now consume. Thirty-two percent (32%) feel reducing the amount of energy consumed is more important.

I asked you ten days ago, in keeping with the thread.... what you meant by this: "Conservatives in Palo Alto/ MP/ PV- are very active in this new Conservative Network Campaign Strategy"

Putting aside Foster's mocking of your non-responsive responses (web 3.0, certainly dominant among ... Silicon Valley executives, etc..) I am still curious if you were serious in any way, or is Foster correct about your Double Secret Probation conservative web strategy being mostly your own creation?

Your rant from yesterday didn't touch the thread topic either. Foster previously gave you some solid advice about leaning exclusively on Rasmussen numbers until the cusp of the election; after all, Ras would have had you believe McCain/Palin was in the race until the the very end in 2008.

Perhaps a conservative can give you a fresh perspective - a former GOP congressman from Florida (typical scandal story, left office due to a dead female aide, if I recall correctly.) You'll moan about his current employer, of course... Web Link

Joe Scarborough: Nobody thinks Romney is going to win. Can we just say this for everybody at home? I have yet to meet a person in the Republican establishment that thinks Mitt Romney is going to win the general election this year. They won?t say it on TV because they?ve got to go on TV, and they don?t want people writing them nasty emails. I obviously don?t care. I have yet to meet anybody in the Republican establishment that worked for George W. Bush, that works in the Republican Congress, that worked for Ronald Reagan that thinks Mitt Romney is going to win the general election.

Keep that one in mind in November when the numbers come home to roost, mostly because of the self inflicted wounds by the Romney Etch-A-Sketch Machine.

I'm no Obama fan, but he's got a machine that will roll over a lightweight moderate like Mitt. Paul just highlighted one very small cog. The only thing that will prevent a repeat of the 100 point EV thrashing of McCain 3 years ago is Crossroads and the inherent funding advantage in hidden PAC money.

Excluding any European meltdown in October, of course.

Anyway, I digress; am most curious of your sole contribution to the actual topic - what is the web strategy you refer to other than what I've already seen on websites, FB and emails?

"Political parties never reveal the details of their strategy to the other side."

GOTV and rallying the troops is NOT a secret 'strategy'. It's their job. You can see what both sides are doing - it's obvious, just as Paul outlined in the topic lead. It's public, it's also on the Net.

Yet Sharon invents a fictional Web 3.0 Super Secret Campaign Tool fantasy for conservative tech execs, gets called on it, and all ya had left was to say I'm drunk. Now you can't tell Tosh just because it's secret. Kinda ugly when your fiction gets pegged.

Trying to shift this into a polling thread? Start another thread for polls, Sharon. And explain in that thread how the people that know Mitt best aren't going to vote for him.

Remember what Tosh told you Scarborough said. "Nobody thinks Romney is going to win. I have yet to meet a person in the Republican establishment that thinks Mitt Romney is going to win the general election this year."

But the editors do not care. Sharon can say whatever she wants, insulting people in the process. Sharon is a cherished asset for the Weekly. Criticism of her and her comments will not be tolerated. Who is Sharon, really? A former council member?

Posted by Careful what you wish for,
a resident of ,
on Apr 23, 2012 at 7:56 am

What scares me the most about Obama is not Obama, but the people who follow him.
This is a NYT link Web Link

It is about the tremendous grab for power throughout all areas of our government by the Executive branch. From bypassing Congress to ignoring Fed judges, this WH is on a march for power unlike any in my half century. But what is REALLY scary are the folks who post on the NYT blog who think this is just fine since it is THEIR guy doing it. Can you imagine a Republican or Conservative bypassing Congress and ignoring the Federal judges?

Y'all better be careful, or you WILL get an extremely powerful Executive Branch, and your karma will come back. Me, I support the balance of powers, but honestly, if you really want an overreaching Executive branch, so be it, I will flow with it when my guy/gal is in power.

'Careful' - "Y'all better be careful, or you WILL get an extremely powerful Executive Branch"

You're joking, right? This power grab has been going on for decades and you're only now worried about it?

Read "Drift", #1 on NYT bestseller list - the author highlights the executive power grab performed by the last two dem and the last three gop presidents.

Obama is just continuing the tradition.

I can't imagine any of the GOP candidates will do any different.

from SF Chron review this Sunday:

"Congress comes in for sharp criticism for relinquishing its constitutionally assigned duty to declare and fund war, but it is Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush 1, Bill Clinton, George Bush 2 and Obama whom Maddow calls out most energetically. Each innovated new ways to circumvent Congress and override the brakes of public opinion.

The long, creative list includes using private war contractors in place of a reserve force to make it easier to go to war without the public feeling the pinch; expanding secrecy under the aegis of intelligence operations to black out more and more of the budget; perfecting sales pitches and information control for those military interventions that do become public; and deferring to the generals for decisions about not just how but even whether to go to war.

"Drift" highlights the power of the feel-good, feel-strong imagery that Reagan's World War II propaganda work prepared him to exploit as a president. This imagery has since proliferated: the Air Force jets overflying football stadiums, "smart" missiles threading the needle of Iraqi target chimneys, missile-bristling destroyers speeding toward crisis zones, young volunteers in a wallpaper of TV ads informing their proud parents about their plans to join up."

Each time, Mr. Obama has emphasized the fact that he is bypassing lawmakers. When he announced a cut in refinancing fees for federally insured mortgages last month, for example, he said: ?If Congress refuses to act, I?ve said that I?ll continue to do everything in my power to act without them.? "

Today, the CREEP (Committe to re-elect) for Obama announced that is has spent a ton of money on grass roots (retail) efforts to re-elect. Simple question for you, Paul: Were you given any perks to show up for your March 31st event? Were the organizers paid?

It can't be "re-elect", since he has only won one election and lost every other race he's been in. The one race he won (Gov of Massachusetts, where he ran as Left of Kennedy) Mitt couldn't get reelected and ran away rather than face certain defeat. So brave!

Posted by Serious discussion,
a resident of ,
on Aug 6, 2012 at 5:41 pm

Sharon, open up a thread on those topics, or all in one.

We can then talk about all the Bush/Cheney policies that Romney endorses, as well as all the Bush/Cheney team members on Romney's team, as well as when Romney was asked about how he differs from Bush/Cheney last week, and he couldn't answer the question.

We can also discus why the most secretive nominee in history, a man who refuses to share common nominee information with the American public, we can discuss the absurd notion that he should represent the Republican Party in Tampa.

Make sure to include the debt issue, and then we can highlight that Romney will explode the deficit with his tax cuts for billionaires and millionaires, as well as corporate tax cuts.

You are right about foreign policy. Obama having killed bin Ladin takes that off the table.

"Personal attacks on Obama or Romney are silly and a waste of time."
This comment by Sharon would be hysterical if not for the fact that Sharon has been attacking Obama for 4+ years.
Obama was the Commander-in-Chief and he took out Bin Laden. End of story
Also do not forget that Obama has to put up with an obstructionist Republican party, that favors their own selfish goals over the good of Americans as a whole. The question is, will they go so far as to aid Al Qeida and other foreign terrorists in their goal to deny Obama a second term.
Sharon's biased rhetoric should be taken with a grain of salt--she is the Rush Limbaugh of the Town Square forum

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